and even if I'm gone, there's still a place for you here
by psychicchameleon
Summary: Reposted. Endgame spoilers. "I wanted you to know that he never forgot about you. You meant a lot to him, to us. You were a part of this family too." Tony leaves something precious behind for Peter.


"Oh, Peter, come on in," Pepper said, opening the door and stepping aside to allow the teenager in.

He just nodded his thanks as he brushed past her, stopping just inside the door. He felt out of place in the small house. The last time he'd been there was under much different circumstances, and he tried to push those memories into the back of his mind.

"Can I get you something? I know you just got out of school, I've got some snacks in the cupboard–," she started moving toward the kitchen, rummaging through cabinets stocked with snacks that clearly belonged to the five-year-old living in the house.

"I'm okay, Ms. Potts, thank you though," Peter said, still standing like a statue in the front entryway, as if he was afraid to walk any further.

Pepper looked older than he remembered, and he had to keep reminding himself that he'd missed out on five whole years: five years of moments, of memories, of moving on.

"How've you been, Peter?"

"I, uh," he stuttered, trying to find the right words, "I've been okay, I guess."

He didn't want to tell her that the last three weeks had been a roller-coaster of emotions, that coming here had ripped open the stitches in a wound he thought was healing.

"I miss him too," she said, and he had to fight against the ugly sob trying to force its way out of his chest, because Pepper had enough hurt of her own without having to comfort a teenager that didn't even really belong there.

"You, um… you said you wanted to show me something?" He hated the way his voice cracked as he tried miserably to change the subject, but to her credit, Pepper just smiled and gestured toward the stairs.

Four rooms lined the narrow hallway. The first, he assumed from the mess of toys and Avengers gadgets, was Morgan's. The master bedroom was next door, and a small but cozy room with a perfectly-made bed sat just across the hall.

Pepper stopped in front of the last room.

"It was originally just supposed to be another guest room, but we had all this stuff that we couldn't just… at first I thought it might be unhealthy."

He was about to ask her what she was talking about, but the question died on his lips when he looked past the door frame.

There was a twin bed, just like the one in Morgan's room, but this one had a familiar dark green quilt and Jurassic Park sheets. Above the headboard was a Star Wars poster that Harrison Ford had autographed, next to a periodic table of memes and a framed photo of Stephen Hawking.

A desk sat in the far corner against the window, and he recognized the AP History textbook he'd been looking for sandwiched between two R2-D2 bookends along with a few notebooks and reading assignments he'd forgotten at the compound over the years.

"When I found out I was pregnant, he wanted to get away from the city and start over after… everything. We started moving things, and we just kept finding these little things of yours all over the compound and he couldn't…" she bit at her lip, which had started wavering, "I think it gave him hope. If we had this room all set up for you, then it was like you had to come back."

The tears that Peter had been so valiantly holding back came pouring out with a vengeance now, and Pepper pulled his shaking body into her own.

"I wanted you to know that he never forgot about you. You meant a lot to him, to us. You were a part of this family too, and it didn't feel right to not include you in our new home."

They stayed like that for a minute, just holding onto each other, until the convulsing sobs melted into a dull ache.

She pulled back from him, using her thumb to wipe the watery mess from his cheeks before guiding him into the room.

"He recorded a couple things before–," she took a breath, unable to finish the sentence but Peter understood. Her back turned to him as she reached into the closet. Above a rack of clothing–some were Peter's, some had been stolen from Tony's collection–was a device no bigger than a phone.

"I only watched the first few minutes," she admitted, setting it up on the desk as Peter took a seat on the bed, "but I think you should see it. I'll give you some space."

Pepper brushed his hair from his face and gave him a small smile before she disappeared from the room.

"Hey, kid. Pete. Mr. Parker. Underoos. Take your pick."

Peter had to blink his eyes a few times, because all of a sudden Tony was right in front of him. Or, at least, an incredibly realistic hologram of him was.

"You have been an excellent… how should I say… protege, if you will. Smartest kid I know, aside from Morgan of course, but she gets her brains from her mother."

He almost had to laugh, because it was all so surreal, having Tony Stark quipping jokes in front of him as if wasn't gone. As if Peter's whole world hadn't been flipped on its head.

"I can't claim you, of course. You're Parker through and through. Still, when I look at you, Pete, God, I just feel like I'm doing something right. Someday you're going to blow my whole R&D department out of the water and I really hope I'm alive to see it," Tony's smile faltered, "But there's a more-than-decent chance that I won't, hence this video."

He paused, as if debating on what he was going to say next.

"You know, I had this dream—right before this whole shit storm started—that I had a kid. It was so vivid… I really thought it was real. And the weirdest part is that, for the first time in ever, I wasn't scared. And then I was on that donut ship headed straight into the star-studded abyss and all I could think about was how twisted it was that, after being haunted by the idea for years, I was finally ready to be a dad—and I was going to be robbed of the chance. I just kept seeing that little face from my dream, looking at me with all the trust in the world, like I could do no wrong. I've never felt that overwhelming sense of responsibility before, and I didn't think I'd ever feel it again."

Tony laughed drily, shaking his head up at the sky and looking almost like he was holding back tears.

"And then your rebellious, teenage ass disobeyed my orders and climbed onto that god damned ship, and I had to watch as you started disappearing in my arms while your stupid little lamb face stared up at me and that beautiful and horrible feeling came flooding back. When you were gone, I felt that. I'll always remember the feeling. That was real."

He took a sharp breath and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Look, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, kid, and I've learned to live with my regrets. I have this one particular regret, though, that I've been losing some sleep over."

He took another deep breath.

"Okay, here goes nothing. Serious Tony moment. If this all goes south… I need you to know that you're my family just as much as Morgan and Pep and Rhodey and Happy are. Honestly, I don't think I could've asked for a better big brother for my little girl. I hope I get to see you on the other side of this, Pete, but if not… you are everything I ever wanted to be, kid, and more. I love you, I'm obnoxiously proud of you, and I should've told you that more often."

Tony gave one last wistful smile at the camera, and then the recording cut out.

Peter didn't know how long he sat there on that bed, trying to process everything that had just played out in front of his eyes. He was still in a daze when a tuft of dark hair peeked into the room.

"Mommy asked me to give this to you," she announced, handing him a folded up piece of fabric and jumping up onto the bed next to him.

"Daddy made them. I have one too, but it doesn't fit me anymore."

Peter held up the gift in his hands, revealing a red T-shirt with the words _Mark I_ printed across the front in gold lettering. Morgan, as if to prove her point, pulled out a much smaller shirt, with _Mark II_printed in identical font.

"I'm Morgan," she said.

Peter smiled, clearing his throat to try and hide how choked up he was, "I'm–,"

"Spider-Man," she finished, grinning, "I know all about you. You like cheeseburgers, like me. And you can stick to walls and shoot webs out of your hands."

He laughed, "All of that is true. But you can call me Peter. Spider-Man is just my pretend name."

Morgan frowned, "Can I call you Petey?"

"Of course."

"Good," she declared, and then added softly, "because daddy used to call you Petey."

Peter's not quite sure what about that sentence sets him off–maybe the way Petey feels intimate, like something a parent would call a child–but suddenly he's choked up again.

Morgan didn't hesitate, she just wrapped her little arms around him.

"Come on," she said a moment later, "Mom made cheeseburgers for dinner."

Peter spent the evening having dinner with the Starks, and by the time he was ready to leave, he didn't feel so out of place in the lake house anymore.

Pepper walked him to the door, and whispered, "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Yea," Morgan added, much louder, "Come back and play! I wanna see how you swing with your webs!"

"I'll be back soon, I promise. And I'll teach you how to swing. How does that sound?"

"Awesome!"

"Oh, you two together are going to be all kinds of trouble," Pepper frowned, but she couldn't hold back a laugh when Morgan giggled maniacally.

Because this, this little family they've created, is exactly what Tony would've wanted.


End file.
